Years of study and formation
At the age of 11, Pestov began studying at a real school, where he studied for 8 years and upon completion received the right to enter a university. The temperamental young man was distinguished by his comprehensive interests. The young man was interested in butterflies and the basics of Esperanto, chemical experiments and participation in the school theater.
Considering himself an atheist, the young man rushed about in search of an answer to the questions that tormented him about the life and death of Christ. After graduating from college, Pestov becomes a student at the Faculty of Chemistry at the Imperial Moscow Higher Technical School, lives with his godfather in Moscow, and leads the usual social life for students.
First World War and Revolution
The year 1914 brought its own adjustments to the life of the young man, who, out of patriotic motives, changed his technical school to a military one. Pestov graduated with the rank of warrant officer, a specialist in chemical defense.
While serving at the front, in 1916, Second Lieutenant Pestov got married. Rufina Dyachkova was the daughter of a sworn attorney. For military merits, a tactful and brave officer is awarded the Order of St. Stanislav and St. Anne, third degree.
After the revolution, Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov, whose biography began in Nizhny Novgorod, returned to his native land and worked in the city food committee.
Due to fears that the former officer would support the advancing White Guards, Pestov and his father-in-law were arrested on August 13, 1918, his father-in-law was shot, and Nikolai managed to be released on November 2 of the same year.
In 1918-1919, a former officer of the old guard and his wife joined the ranks of the Communist Party. After graduating from the Central Higher Courses of General Education, Military Commissar Pestov, as part of the Northern Group of the Eastern Front, goes to fight the troops of Admiral Kolchak, his faithful wife is always nearby.
After the defeat of Kolchak in 1919, the district military commissar became the head of the General Education department at the Priural Military District. Familiar with Trotsky, Kamenev, Tukhachevsky, the military commissar, willy-nilly, becomes a witness and accomplice in the cleansing of the country from “enemies of the people,” which he later writes about as an evil and a nightmare.
The Turning Point and Knowing Christ
It’s hard to believe, according to Nikolai Pestov himself, in early March 1921, Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream. In the dream, everyone present, and among them the commissar’s sisters, try not to notice Christ, who was followed by their uncle. Nikolai did not have time to look away, and he was pierced by the kindness and severity of Christ’s gaze.
This dream changed Pestov’s worldview, the once commissar left the army, this became the reason for his divorce from Rufina, they never meet again in their lives. The seal of the “chekist” separated Pestov from his relatives; few people make friends with him. The thirst for knowledge of Christ led the once atheist to a Christian meeting in 1921, where he listened to the sermon “Did Christ Live?”
Notes
- He, a member of the Communist Party who did not have any questions related to his religious worldview, saw Christ in a dream on March 1, 1921: “That night the Lord entered my heart, and from then on, no matter what I did or felt, I know that Christ has always been near me, is always near me and has never left me.”
- Budreiko E. N., Zhukov A. P.
Professors of Mendeleev University: 20th century. - M.: RKhTU im. D. I. Mendeleeva, 2006. - P. 473-476. — 756 p. — ISBN 5-7237-0513-X. - Sokolova N. N.
Gift of love. - M.: Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church; Russian Chronograph, 2003. - ISBN 5-85134-025-8.
Time of persecution and increase
Persecution began, in the early thirties churches were closed, arrests and executions of priests began. St. Nicholas Church on Maroseyka and Father Sergius did not escape this fate. For faith in Christ and worship of God they were sent to prison and exile.
Icons were hidden in the Pestovsky house, services were held secretly, and even the nun Evnikia lived; she was introduced as a relative. It was especially difficult for the children at school, but the love of their father, who devoted all his free time to communicating with them, covered all the hardships of school life.
Zoya Veniaminovna, who was in Samara on business, was arrested according to a conspiracy; her husband rushed to help her out, but at the same time he did not look for contact, but prayed earnestly. Reading the troparion to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Pestov found himself in front of a house, where he decided to ask to spend the night. It was the home of a nurse from prison, through which the couple communicated, and Zoya was soon released.
Nikolai Evgrafovich successfully advanced in his career as a chemist, teaching at universities in Moscow, until 1933 he was the head of the department at the Military Chemical Academy, in 1937 he moved to the Moscow Chemical Technology Institute. Mendeleev, manages graduation projects, gives lectures at various enterprises, defends himself and works with graduate students. Only the prayers of family members saved the scientist from the repressions of 1937.
In 1939, N.E. Pestov headed the department at MIEI, and at the beginning of 1941 he defended his doctoral dissertation. Bronchial asthma caused the doctor of chemical sciences to be exempted from conscription into the army, but his eldest son Kolya goes to the front and dies. The loving father immortalized the memory of his son in the book “Life for Eternity.”
Book by N. Pestov “Life for Eternity”
N. Pestov works actively, publishes a lot, and becomes famous both in the country and abroad. His research brings progress to the defense industry, for which the scientist was subsequently awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and in 1946 he was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.”
PESTOV NIKOLAY EVGRAFOVICH
Spiritual writer, professor
Do not make yourself an idol. Deut. 5:8 “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). This is how the Lord warns us. Mammon - the golden calf - is one of the idols of fallen humanity. Our children can become infected with an addiction to earthly goods and become infected from us, their parents, if we are not completely free from this vice. Collecting material assets under any pretext is a distrust of God, a violation of the commandments of the Lord. Hoarding is the robbery of those poor and needy who could relieve their need with the help of accumulated valuables. This is a direct violation of the Savior’s command to “sell your possessions” (Luke 12:33). Therefore, wealth is terrible for the soul of a Christian, according to the Lord (Matthew 19:23). But not only mammon - wealth, passion for luxury and comfort - is the idol of modern humanity. For many, the achievements of science and the progress of technology have become such an idol, replacing God. This is what, according to many contemporaries, can make humanity happy, what one should devote all one’s strength and all one’s attention to, what one can believe in.
Young people tend to succumb to such dominant ideas and are seduced by the “miracles” of technology. Let parents do not forget to point out to their children the true value of such progress: man mastered the air - and now cities are collapsing from thousands of bombs dropped from airplanes; a man entered the water - and ships are sinking from submarines; man has penetrated the secrets of the structure of matter - and factories are being created to produce atomic bombs and toxic substances. Of course, science can also be aimed not at serving Satan, but God. And there is no doubt that true, non-God-fighting science expands our knowledge of the Creator of the world. “For,” according to the ap. Paul, His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the consideration of creatures” (Rom. 1:20). But it is not in secular science that the shortest path to the goal of a Christian’s life lies - to the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, to communion with God. And as one of the types of wealth, secular science is seductive and can become an idol that replaces God. And in this case, “it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23). It is not in vain that the apostle denounces. Paul, the future for him and the present for us generations of people of the end times, who “resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, unlearned in the faith” (2 Tim. 3:8). It should be remembered that the first to meet Christ on earth were unlearned shepherds; the wise magicians worshiped Him much later.
Let us fear for children as they study science and pray to God that, according to the words of St. Paul, their “minds were not corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). It should also be borne in mind that intense study of science can take up too much of children’s time and attention, which can weaken their spiritual life. Extremes in this regard are harmful - let us not forget the commandments of the Savior: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25). Let children sacredly preserve the dedication to God of Sundays and holidays with obligatory attendance at divine services, and let those minutes during the day that are devoted to morning and evening prayer and spiritual reading remain inviolable. Excessive mental activities are harmful to the health of children and lead to overwork of the nervous system. This should be counteracted by walks and outdoor games at an early age and physical labor at an older age. Particular care must be taken in teaching those children who clearly show an inclination towards spiritual life. These chosen ones of God must be nourished most spiritually.
Thus, Elder Ambrose of Optina did not allow two orphan girls who showed a penchant for solitude and prayer to be taught French. In addition to science, children and young people can become interested in art and poetry. The danger is the same here: art and poetry are jealous, just like science, and also demand a lot from a person. Happiness is if, along with a talent for music, painting, poetry or literature, the shoots of spiritual life are sown and grow in a child. Then he will dedicate his talent to God and use it for the benefit of his soul, as it was used, for example, by St. John of Damascus, artists Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Polenov and many spiritual composers. But woe if his talent serves to please base tastes and the whims of the crowd. St. Seraphim said: “Only deeds done for the sake of Christ bring benefits to a Christian.” Let the parents of such gifted children then remember the words of Christ: “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:30).
We are reminded of the fate of two pure young girls raised by a pious nanny. After the death of the nanny, they were surrounded by a typical secular environment that did not care about God. The talented girls showed inclinations: one for ballet, the other for dramatic stage. But, apparently, their nanny loved them deeply. One might think that, already behind the grave, she begged God for the purity of their virgin souls. And both of them - one after the other - were taken from the world in early youth. The mother wept bitterly, but she should have thanked the Lord and grieved over her mistakes in upbringing. It remains to mention the boys’ passion for sports, meaning by the latter intensive training of any physical abilities. The uselessness of such activities is indicated by the apostle. Paul: “Bodily exercise is of little use, but godliness is of good use for everything, having the promise of the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). This, however, does not apply to active children's games in the air, skating, skiing, boating, swimming, which strengthen the children's body. St. Macarius the Great says: “What a person’s heart is attached to and what his desire leads him to, that becomes God for him.” And no matter what children do: science, technology, art, parents must carefully monitor what place these activities occupy in the hearts of their children. We should be afraid that something will become an idol for children, alienate them from God, and stifle the growth of spiritual life. This is a sign of spiritual illness that must be fought. This is a sign of an unhealthy atmosphere surrounding children, a lack of their spiritual education. Let the parents in this case do everything possible to heal, correct the mistakes or omissions they have made, diligently asking God for help. Ap. Paul writes: “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is profitable; “Everything is permissible for me, but nothing should possess me” (1 Cor. 6:12).
"Keeping From the Addictions of the World"
Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov (1892-1982), Orthodox spiritual writer, professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences.
Born on August 4, 1892 in Nizhny Novgorod. His father came from a bourgeoisie, his mother from a merchant family. In 1911, he entered the chemistry department of the Imperial Moscow Higher Technical School (now Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School), where he studied from 1911 to 1914 and from 1922 to 1924. The First World War found him in his 4th year. Nikolai voluntarily entered the army. Then in his diary he wrote: “... many years later I see in this the Providence of God, which took me out of the walls of the school for 8 years in order to return me to it again, but as a completely different person. Saul went out, Paul returned..."
After graduating from military school, Nikolai Pestov was promoted to warrant officer and assigned to an infantry reserve battalion. In mid-August 1915, he was transferred to Riga to an artillery regiment to organize anti-chemical defense. At the front he received an auditory concussion, the consequences of which remained for life. Awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, III degree, and the Order of St. Anne, III degree. In the documents of the regiment, Pestov was certified as an “outstanding officer.”
After the February Revolution, Pestov was elected a member of the Regimental Committee, and then to the executive committee as the chairman of the regiment and at the same time a member of the Regimental Court; in August 1917 he was appointed regimental adjutant. On November 16, 1917, having taken leave, he went home to Nizhny Novgorod, where after the change of government he worked in the civil service. In August 1918, together with other former officers, nobles and representatives of the bourgeoisie, he was arrested “in view of the possible action of counter-revolutionary White Guard elements” (forty people were shot). In November, when it became clear that the whites could not take over Nizhny Novgorod, he was released. All specialists of the old army were obliged to register and serve in those positions to which the Soviet government would place them. Pestov was sent to work in the bodies of Vsevobuch. Having no Christian faith, he joined the Communist Party in December 1918. After a successful report on the state of affairs in the Nizhny Novgorod Vsevobuch, he was left in Moscow to work in the Vsevobuch Directorate at the All-Russian Main Staff. At the same time, he was enrolled as a cadet in the Central Higher Courses of Vsevobuch, upon completion of which he was awarded the title of military commissar. In the spring of 1919, Nikolai Evgrafovich ended up on the Eastern Front in the Northern Group of Forces. In September 1919, he was awarded the rank of district military commissar and appointed the post of Head of the General Education Department of the Priural Military District.
In July 1921, Nikolai Evgrafovich resigned from the Red Army. The reason for leaving military service was the enormous spiritual shock that happened to him during that period. The gradual stabilization of the situation in Russia allowed him to demobilize and return to Moscow to complete his education.
In the late autumn of 1921, he attended Martsinkovsky’s lecture “Did Christ Live?” for students of Moscow Higher Technical University and other universities. “It was the first time I heard such deep and meaningful words about Christ and the Gospel. A feeling of deep remorse for what I had done was born in my soul. Suddenly, as if scales had fallen from my eyes, in the simple words of the Gospel that the lecturer read, I heard the answer to the questions that were tormenting me. This evening became a turning point... I left the lecture a Christian. My new enlightened life has begun. New forces, unknown sensations burst into the soul. No longer sorrow and melancholy, but indescribable joy filled the soul, giving strength to live, work, study, he wrote in his diary. “The path of the Gospel and the implementation of Christ’s commandments in life is now my path, my life!”
New convictions did not allow him to remain in the party, he destroyed his party card, did not pass the next registration and was expelled from the ranks of the RCP (b). In Moscow, Nikolai Pestov met the organizers of the Christian Circle at the Moscow Higher Technical School and began to help organize lectures on spiritual topics. Martsinkovsky very soon noticed Pestov and contributed to his activities in the Christian Student Circle. In 1921, Pestov took part in the fight against famine and typhus epidemic in Saratov, where he also visited communities of Christian students. By the end of the summer of 1922, Pestov returned to Moscow, was reinstated at the Moscow Higher Technical School and continued his studies, attending meetings of the Christian Student Circle in his free time. In 1923, Martsinkovsky was informed by the GPU that he was being sent abroad for his religious preaching among students.
In 1923, the wedding of Nikolai Evgrafovich and Zoya Veniaminovna, whom he met in a Christian circle, took place. In 1925, Pestov entered service at the Moscow Higher Technical School as a researcher at the department of mineral fertilizer technology.
After Lenin's death, the authorities' attitude towards Christian students changed dramatically. It was forbidden to hold religious and philosophical meetings, religious circles and societies were closed. The Christian Student Circle in Moscow was also liquidated by the authorities, the house was taken away, members of the circle were subjected to all kinds of repression, searches, arrests, and exiles took place. Pestov went to prison, first to Lubyanka, then to Butyrka. Within two days, the entire composition of the Christian Student Circle was arrested. They slept on bunks with criminals. Members of the Theosophical student circle were also sitting there. There was information that the circle members were saved from deportation by N.K. Krupskaya. Instead of deportation, they were sentenced to 40 days of arrest and separated from the criminals into a special cell, where they held debates with Theosophists on religious and philosophical topics. In prison, Pestov met a parishioner of the Church of St. Nicholas on Maroseyka (St. Nicholas Church in Klenniki). The rector of this church was the elder Father Alexy Mechev, at that time already an old and sick man. After his death, spiritual leadership in the parish passed to his son, Fr. Sergius Mechev.
Returning from prison, Pestov stopped visiting renovationist churches and became a permanent parishioner of the Maroseya Church and the spiritual son of Fr. Sergius Mecheva. With the blessing of his spiritual father, Pestov in 1926 made a trip to Sarov and Diveevo, where monasteries still operated.
Two sons and a daughter grew up in the Pestov family; Nikolai Evgrafovich paid a lot of attention to their upbringing, fighting for their souls, as well as for his own. He never punished children strictly: “Where love operates, there is no need for severity.”
Pestov carried out extensive scientific and pedagogical activities: he taught at universities, lectured at enterprises, supervised graduate students, he owned about 160 research papers, monographs and articles. In 1937, at a department meeting at the Mendeleev Institute, prof. Pestov N.E. opposed the conviction as an “enemy of the people” of a talented scientist who was then arrested by the GPU, and was expelled from the staff.
“Almost every day, more like nightly, I expected arrest. I believe that it was only through the prayers of my children, wife and spiritual father that I was not arrested at that time and remained alive,” he wrote later.
In the summer of 1939 he was invited to work at MIEI. Ordzhonikidze, enrolled through a competition for the position of head of the department of chemical technology, since October 1943 he has been deputy. director for scientific and educational work. After defending his doctoral dissertation in 1941 at the USSR Academy of Sciences, by order of the Higher Attestation Commission, he was approved for the degree of Doctor of Chemical Sciences.
During the war, the Pestov family did not leave Moscow for evacuation. Due to bronchial asthma, Pestov was exempt from military conscription. Son Kolya was 17 years old; he was drafted only in September 1942. And in October 1943, a message was received that he had been killed in battle. Nikolai Evgrafovich poured out his grief by writing the book “In blessed memory of Kolyusha” or “Monument over the grave of his son.” He later renamed his work, calling it “Life for Eternity.”
The war years were years of intense scientific and pedagogical activity for N.E. Pestov. His works were published both in our country and abroad. Some aspects of his scientific work were directly related to the defense industry. Awards: in 1944 - Order of the Red Banner of Labor; in 1946 - medal “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War”; in 1953, for long service and impeccable work among scientific workers in higher educational institutions of Moscow - the Order of Lenin. By the end of the war years, Nikolai Evgrafovich stopped hiding his convictions, went to church again, no longer afraid to meet his colleagues or students there.
The first works on theology were written by Pestov in the late 50s. These were excerpts and quotes from the holy fathers and teachers of the Church on various issues of Christian life, combined into two volumes entitled: “Paths to Perfect Joy.” In those same years, the first edition of the book about his son who died at the front was written, as well as the first edition of the book “Above the Apocalypse.”
In the last years of his career, Pestov said: “I ask the Lord to show me His Holy will. Isn’t it time for me to put aside chemistry and physics and devote the rest of my days to the Lord?” The Lord indicated His will by the following set of circumstances. During these times (60s), Pestov held the position of deputy. Director of the Engineering and Economic Institute for scientific affairs. An order came to carry out anti-religious work in all departments, order all professors and teachers to wedge atheistic propaganda into all subjects and provide a corresponding plan. Because Pestov refused to do all this; he was called into the office of the director of the institute and, in the presence of the secretary of the MIEI party bureau, was offered to retire. When, after his vacation, Pestov came to the institute in the fall to apply for retirement, he was told that he had already been expelled by order. There were no ceremonial farewells.
The last year has been painful. Nikolai Evgrafovich realized that he would soon die and was preparing for this great moment. In the summer of 1981, he asked him to perform unction. During the Sacrament, he prayed fervently, and after the unction, the illness visibly subsided. In the last months before his death, he almost did not get up, received Holy Communion weekly and remained in constant prayer. After Christmas 1982, his strength finally left him. On the morning of January 11, he fell into unconsciousness and, without regaining consciousness, died on the night of January 14, 1982, on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and St. Basil the Great, whom he greatly revered. Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov was buried in the cemetery at the Smolensk-St. Nicholas Church in the village of Grebnevo, Moscow region.
Time of choice and theological heritage
After the war, the doctor of science openly declared his religious beliefs; holy images and paintings on biblical themes appeared in his office. Nikolai Pestov and his wife are often seen in churches during services. After his retirement, the professor continued his scientific and teaching activities; Kalinin himself awarded him the Order of Lenin.
Interesting! In the second half of the twentieth century, Nikolai Evgrafovich researches the letters and messages of the Church Fathers and saints; he describes his conclusions in the two-volume book “Paths to Perfect Joy, or the Experience of Building a Christian Worldview.”
The messages, written in accessible language, in which the scientist shared his own experience of knowing God and his personal revelations, became widely popular throughout the country. In the early 60s, before the deputy director of MIEI N.E. Pestov was faced with a choice: to stay at the institute or retire.
By order of the party, anti-religious work intensified throughout the country, and for refusing to cooperate with the communists, the world-famous great scientist was expelled from his post for his adherence to religion. A talented scientist devotes all his energies to writing theological works, at which time he is working on a monumental dissertation, “The Path to Perfect Joy.”
Important! The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen himself sent a letter of gratitude in 1977 for his work helping the people of the Soviet Union to return to the fold of the Orthodox Church, and for Christians to plunge deeper into the beauty of Orthodoxy.
After studying the book “Apocalypse” by John the Theologian, a wonderful book “The Light of Revelation” is published, showing the importance of the unity of the Church of the Lord on earth. Sincerely repenting of the deeds of his youth, Nikolai Pestov, whose books were literally snapped up from the shelves, was very strict with himself until the end of his life. He prays a lot, observes all fasts and attends services.
N. Pestov “Modern practice of Orthodox piety”
Great glory did not become a reason for pride and vanity; having repented of his sins, the famous theologian until the end of his life, according to him, was aware of his insignificance before God. The sacrament of confession and Communion was a certain impulse in the life of the ascetic, who enjoyed literally reading the akathists, the Great Canon.
Fiery prayer and lively conversations with God were intertwined with great love for neighbors, especially for grandchildren, for whom the great scientist and theologian personally prepared breakfast and talked with them about God.
The death in 1973 of his beloved wife, friend, assistant, with whom Nikolai Pestov lived for half a century, plunged him into grief for two years. Time heals, the constant reading of prayers and canons for the repose of the soul of the wife returned cheerfulness to the ascetic.
His grandchildren brought great joy to Nikolai Evgrafovich. On the day of blessing and receiving gratitude from Patriarch Pimen in 1977 in the Church of Elijah the Prophet on Kropotkinskaya, where two of Pestov’s grandsons served as deacons, the Patriarch himself ordained another grandson, monk Sergius, to the rank of deacon.
Bibliography
He is the author of works of philosophical and theological content. Since 1943, he worked on the fundamental work “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety (The Experience of a Christian World Outlook).” At the end of the 1950s, Pestov wrote his first works on theology. These were mainly excerpts from the Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church on various issues of Christian life, combined into two volumes entitled “Paths to Perfect Joy,” as well as the first edition of the book “Above the Apocalypse.”
Books
- The path to perfect joy.
- Modern practice of Orthodox piety. Volume I.
- Modern practice of Orthodox piety. Volume II.
- Orthodox education of children. - St. Petersburg: Satis, 2010. - ISBN 5-7868-0063-6. — 5000 copies.
- What is fasting and how to fast correctly. - St. Petersburg: Satis, 2005.
- How to say the Jesus Prayer. - St. Petersburg: Satis, 2005.
- Light of revelation: reflections on the Apocalypse. - M.: Orthodox Brotherhood of St. ap. John the Theologian, 2010. - 265 p. — ISBN 978-5-89424-019-0
- Light of perfect joy. - Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2007. - ISBN 978-5-91362-024-8. — 5000 copies.
- How to defeat the devil's networks (about resistance to dark forces). - St. Petersburg: Satis, 2005.
- Life for Eternity // Joint publication of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Tushino, Moscow and the Orthodox Brotherhood of St. ap. John the Theologian. — ISBN 5-87873-026-X.
Movies
Based on the book by N. E. Pestov “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety” the film “The Purpose of Christian Life and the Path of Salvation” was made. — TK My Joy, TK Soyuz 2009-06-18.
